Intermittent fasting may be the one simple change you need to make to reduce your joint pain and improve your quality of life
While many people with chronic pain caused by arthritis believe that they just don’t have a choice but to live with chronic pain and to take medication, the latest research shows that a natural and healthy way to reduce pain could be to practice intermittent fasting.
What is intermittent fasting?
Intermittent fasting (IF) is a lifestyle where eating is restricted to a certain period of time. For instance the hours of the day that you may eat would be restricted to 10, 8 or even less hours per day. Other longer fasting periods could be practiced in more extreme types of intermittent fasting.
Fasting has actually has been practiced in different ways and forms in many cultures for centuries. If one thinks about the Jewish Yom Kippur or the Muslim Ramadan, both of these religious fasting periods are actually types of intermittent fasting, exercised by millions of people over many hundreds of years.
However, intermittent fasting has now become the latest lifestyle and wellbeing trend worldwide. It is even reported to have anti-aging benefits!
What effect does intermittent fasting have on the body?
Intensive research has been going on to try to figure out the cellular, genetic and other physiological processes which are activated during fasting. These fasting induced processes seem to be very beneficial for the body in many different ways. One of the most relevant effects is that during fasting one’s body initiates important repair processes within the cells. Fasting seem to reduce oxidative stress, excessive oxidative stress damages the molecules and cells. In addition, different hormones are activated during fasting – for example the hormones responsible for mobilizing body fat and losing weight are activated. Most relevant for arthritis patients though, is that intermittent fasting has also been shown to reduce inflammation. A study at the University of Oslo found that people with arthritis benefited from intermittent fasting. Fasting can also be used as an adjunctive therapy for chronic pain and chronic fatigue syndromes.
Different forms of intermittent fasting
There are different ways you can do IF routines. You can easily choose one which suits your work, social, family and leisure time schedule the best.
- 10/14: fast for 10 hours and eat only during the remaining 14 hours per day,
- 16/8: fast for 16 hours and eat only during the remaining 8 hours per day
- 20/4: fast for 20 hours and eat only during the remaining 4 hours per day
- 23/1: fast for 23 hours and eat only one meal during the remaining 1 hour of the day
These different fasting routines can be mixed or alternate as you wish. The longer the fasting period the more health benefits can be achieved. You may also chose to fast on certain days of the week, where you consume much less calories on alternate days, in order to give you system a break.
As with all diets and lifestyle trends, it is important to stay balanced and not to become too extreme. It is also still important to eat wholesome, nutritious food during your “feeding window”. Drinking 2-2,5 litres of water per day and getting sufficient sleep is vital for a healthy lifestyle. If you have any pre-existing conditions like diabetes, high blood pressure or anything else you should consult your doctor prior to starting intermittent fasting or diets.
Although IF is not advocated as a cure for joint pain, when paired with the correct physical exercises and a healthy lifestyle it certainly can assist in reducing symptoms and improving your quality of life. Fasting for just two days can kick-start the immune system, and reset your bodies functions. Intermittent fasting is also a great supportive lifestyle change for maintaining an optimal weight or even for losing weight.
It should also be obvious that by limiting the time window when eating is allowed during a day, one will automatically reduce the net calorie intake – it is important to bear in mind that your total calorie intake cannot be ignored, especially when wanting to lose weight.
How to intermittently fast successfully
Have your dinner early
To get the best results from your intermittent fasting, ensure that you leave at least a 12 hour window between dinner and breakfast. This means that you would need to have dinner by the latest at 18:30, if you then ate breakfast at 06:30 the next morning. This would make the window without food large enough to be effective.
Skip your breakfast
Recent research has shown that there is no benefit in maintaining a diet with breakfast included, versus skipping breakfast. If you are not a breakfast eater and you can start your day with just one or two cups of coffee or tea, you can easily achieve 12-16 hours fasting before you have your first meal at around lunch time. By the way, it is good to know that coffee and tea, even with a sip of milk or cream are allowed during fasting.
Drink lots of water
In between meals, make sure to drink plenty of water. This will not only help to keep hunger pangs at bay but will also assist in flushing out excess toxins. It is recommended by healthcare professionals that one drinks at least 2 litres of water per day. Make sure you have a nice clean bottle of water always with you. You can put some lemon, cucumber, mint leaves or ginger into your bottle just to spice up your drinks!
Stick to fruit and vegetables
When you break your fast, try to consume fresh fruit and vegetables. Studies have shown that patients who have adopted a gluten-free, vegetarian diet showed significant improvement in health when paired with intermittent fasting. Fruits like dates, oranges and cherries have been proven to assist with alleviating the effects of arthritis.
In summary, intermittent fasting can be an easy way to redefine eating habits and to reduce calorie intake. Intermittent fasting also activates protective mechanisms in the body and supports anti-inflammatory and anti-aging processes. With these multiple positive effects, intermittent fasting is a highly recommended diet and lifestyle modification to help people with osteoarthritis or other inflammatory diseases.
OhMy.Health has loads of tasty, delicious recipes which you can try. Remember to sign up for the FREE “14 day Anti-Inflammatory Meal Plan” in order to improve your health and take the first steps to a healthier happier you. Remember to be kind to your joints!
